Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his fellow GOP senators are attempting to convince Florida Sen. Marco Rubio to run for reelection.
"One of the things that I'm hoping, I and my colleagues have been trying to convince Sen. Marco Rubio to run again in Florida," McConnell said during an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt, according to
The Washington Times.
Rubio had said he wouldn't run for the Senate and the Republican presidential nomination at the same time again. Now that the Florida senator ended his run for president, McConnell and other Republicans are hoping he will continue his political career.
"He has said he wasn't going to, but we're all hoping that he'll reconsider, because poll data indicates that he is the one who can win for us," McConnell said.
McConnell believes Rubio has been effective since he returned to work in the Senate and others in the GOP believe he's a strong candidate.
"There are an awful lot of us who think it would not only be good for him and for Florida, but good for the Senate if he ran again," McConnell said, according to the Washington Times.
According to
Politico, when asked if he might change his mind, Rubio responded, "I don't think so."
Republicans are worried about losing a Republican-held seat. Scott Reed, the U.S. Chamber's political strategist, told Politico, "Florida is the big enchilada. It could decide control of the Senate."
In his home state of Florida, Rubio is pushing for more federal funding to combat Zika virus infections, according to the
Palm Beach Post, and he's also calling on voters to put pressure on their representatives to back more funding.
"To any members of Congress who don't receive pressure at home next week, you should know that you soon enough will," he said, according to the Palm Beach Post.
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